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Constance Binney

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Constance Binney
Born(1896-06-28)June 28, 1896
New York City, U.S.
DiedNovember 15, 1989(1989-11-15) (aged 93)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Spouses
Charles Edward Cotting, Jr.
​
​
(m. 1926; div. 1932)​
​
​
(m. 1932; div. 1935)​
​
​
(m. 1941; div. 1951)​
RelativesFaire Binney (sister)

Constance Binney (June 28, 1896 – November 15, 1989) was an American stage and film actress and dancer.

Biography

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Born in New York City, Binney was educated at Westover School, a private college preparatory boarding school for girls in Middlebury, Connecticut, and in Paris, France.[1] Her father, Harold Osgood Binney and her mother, Gertrude Miles, were both from wealthy and socially connected families. A maternal uncle was Basil Miles, an American diplomat to Russia during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. In 1934, she told a newspaper reporter, "I was born a society wench, and I've resented it ever since."[2]

She made her Broadway theatre debut in Saturday to Monday (1917)[3] and the following year appeared with her actress sister, Faire Binney, in the Maurice Tourneur silent film, Sporting Life, her film debut.[4] In 1919, she starred opposite John Barrymore in The Test of Honor.[citation needed] Her other Broadway credits included Oh, Lady! Lady! (1918), 39 East (1919),[5] and Sweet Little Devil (1924).[3]

Modern assessment of her career is limited as most of her films are now lost, with only two of her films surviving in a complete form, Erstwhile Susan and The Case of Becky, along with a single reel of First Love.[6]

Binney married Charles Edward Cotting, Jr, a Boston banker, in Old Lyme, Connecticut in 1926. They divorced in 1932. Two months later, she married Henry Wharton, Jr., at city hall in New York City. Wharton was a prominent Philadelphia attorney. That marriage also ended in divorce.[citation needed]

Binney last performed on Broadway in 1924. She appeared on stage in London and in 1941, during the Second World War, married the British Royal Air Force pilot, Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, later, Baron Cheshire, who was twenty years her junior. However, the marriage was childless, and the couple were estranged after the war ended, divorcing in 1951.[7]

Death

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Binney died in 1989 in Queens, New York City, aged 93.[8]

Legacy

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The Stolen Kiss (1920)

Binney has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located on the 6300 block of Hollywood Boulevard.[8]

Filmography

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Film poster
A Bill of Divorcement (1922)
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1918 The Sporting Life Norah Cavanagh Lost film [9]
1919 The Test of Honor Juliett Hollis Lost film [9]
1919 Erstwhile Susan Barnabetta Dreary [9]
1919 The Stolen Kiss Felicia Day / Octavia, her Mother [9]
1920 39 East Penelope Penn Lost film [9]
1920 Something Different Alice Lea Lost film [9]
1921 The Magic Cup Mary Malloy Lost film [9]
1921 Such a Little Queen Anne Victoria Gzbfernigambia Lost film [9]
1921 Room and Board Lady Noreen Lost film [9]
1921 The Case of Becky Dorothy Stone [9]
1921 First Love Kathleen O'Donnell Incomplete film [9]
1922 Midnight Edna Morris Lost film [9]
1922 The Sleepwalker Doris Dumond Lost film [9]
1922 A Bill of Divorcement Sidney Fairfield Lost film [10]
1923 Three O'Clock in the Morning Elizabeth Winthrop Lost film [9]

References

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  1. ^ (Chicago), Photoplay (1924). "Stars of the Photoplay".
  2. ^ Houser, Lionel (January 21, 1934). "Stage Again Lures Binney Duo Who Are Rehearsing New Play". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 23. Retrieved August 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Constance Binney". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  4. ^ "Popular New Screen Star Says 'Three' Has Always Treated Her Very Nicely". The Ottawa Citizen. Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. March 13, 1920. p. 13. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  5. ^ John Corbin (April 1, 1919). "Drama". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Slide, Anthony (2010). "Constance Binney". Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2249-6.
  7. ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 11. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 321. ISBN 0-19-861361-X.Article on Leonard Cheshire by Christopher Foxley-Norris.
  8. ^ a b Pierce, Tony (June 9, 2010). "Constance Binney". Los Angeles Times. Hollywood Star Walk. Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Constance Binney Filmography". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles, California: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "A Bill of Divorcement". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020.
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